


NOT HALF-SPIDER, BUT HALF-FURRY — mark lee.

by jaemarkzen



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Best Friends, Crack and Angst, F/M, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, LMAO i like that theres a tag for that..... but mark IS whipped anyways., Light Angst, Mark Lee (NCT) as Spider-Man, Mark Lee (NCT) is Whipped, Post-Spider-Man: Homecoming, Slow Burn, Spider-Man Identity Reveal, its KIND of slow burn ok.. lol
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-09
Updated: 2020-02-09
Packaged: 2021-02-27 23:47:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,228
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22634566
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jaemarkzen/pseuds/jaemarkzen
Summary: mark’s got three missions. one is to save the world, and two is to get with you for homecoming, and three is for you to not find out that he’s spider-man.↳ pairings: mark x reader, lucas x reader | spider-man!mark
Relationships: Mark Lee (NCT) & Reader, Mark Lee (NCT)/Original Female Character(s), Mark Lee (NCT)/Reader, Mark Lee (NCT)/You
Comments: 4
Kudos: 53





	NOT HALF-SPIDER, BUT HALF-FURRY — mark lee.

**Author's Note:**

> HAHa another spiderman au i COULDNT RESIST OK!!!! i might write a spiderman jeno or jaehyun * SI G H * im a SUCKER 4 spiderman aus so be quiet. anyways, this may be similar to patch me up but . it be me so its fine ig. I MIGHT flick between donghyuck and haechan but i tried my best to actually edit this
> 
> ↳ warnings: blood, knives, catcalling and the spidey kiss (again.)

Much to Donghyuck’s stupid sayings, he wasn’t half-furry. Maybe half-insect. Half-spider, but not half-furry. 

Superheroes were never your thing—until a certain Spider-Man became headlines of the classic New York newspapers scattered around. 

Mark Lee, your best friend, was the one appearing in the news almost every minute, even the televisions in the hallways. Mark Lee was the one appearing in every single newspaper article, most of them titled with ‘ _Spider-Man saves New York_ ’. He was _actually_ Spider-Man. And Mark absolutely loved hearing your sweet voice gush over Spider-Man— well, _him_. He’s always giving you the biggest grin while talking about his unknown identity. Not to mention that he was slowly falling in love with you.

When the sun sets in the early evening, you don’t find Mark nowadays sitting outside the balcony of his and Aunt May’s apartment, headphones plugged in while he stares as the night sky. Much to your disappointment, he wasn’t out there for most of the time now just before you would turn your lights off and close the curtains. Despite seeing him everyday in all your classes, your favourite moments with Mark were always at night and your balcony talks don’t seem to occur anymore.

Reading another article about how Spider-Man saved an old lady in the streets earlier this morning, you couldn’t help but smile to yourself. You had no clue about the superhero industry, except comic books you’ve read about Wonder Woman and Hulk when you were younger. Maybe you were able to admit that you were somewhat a fanatic of Spider-Man, being interested in the hero probably gave off the impression of being the nerd, but it’s not everyday that you see a boy in a red and blue suit swinging through New York’s skyscrapers.

“Did you see the news this morning? Spider-Man saved the bank last night. I thought that was pretty cool. The men were in Avengers masks,” You giggle, showing Mark the article you saved on your phone. He quickly looks at you with a bright smile, “Jeez, you must like him.”

Mark leans back against the lockers, watching you flick through your white binder to find notes for your next class with him: Chemistry. _Stupidly_ , Mark’s favourite subject. It wasn’t really particularly your favourite, but anything with explosives and having Mark with you made it better. “Just interested. You know these things stay in comics and dreams of a five year old."

“Right,” Mark laughed. Mark tells you he’s off to find Donghyuck, another good friend of yours and his best friend. Walking to Jiwoo, one of your bestest friends, she teases you about Mark. “Oh my god, I don’t like him Jiwoo.” But nonetheless, she continues to ramble on about him. Funnily, you do actually like him, but you think that he’s not interested and there are plenty of other fish in the ocean that could make him happier. Plus, nothing probably hurts more than being stuck in the best friend zone.

“If he asks you to Homecoming, you’ll be the one like ‘ _Jiwoo really was right all along_ ’.” Your ears turn red and you cursed in your head, totally forgetting about Homecoming. Not really your favourite season, usually you stayed in your lonely apartment or Jiwoo would drag you with her.

“Okay. But you should really wear red to Homecoming.” You shove her playfully, earning a groan from her.

* * *

Leaning your back on the uncomfortable desk chair was almost a relief after finishing your Math paper. You glance to your window, the balcony in front empty again.

Sighing, you stare at your phone for two minutes, watching it hit 8:00, and Mark wasn’t back. He was probably out with Donghyuck and Jaemin, turning down your offer to watch a movie with him while you both have hot chocolate, but he hasn’t even read your message yet.

Disappointed, you close the curtains and flop onto your bed, scrolling through your phone. Several minutes later, you’re bored again and you decide to call Mark.

Mark only just luckily swings back to his balcony on time you call him, yelling a quick ‘ _Anytime_!’ to the mother and her son, almost getting hit by a taxi as he also gives the taxi driver a lecture on how to drive safer. He smiled to himself as a couple of people took their phones out, hearing yells, and gasps from many people despite age. Young and old, almost everyone was surprised at Spider-Man’s presence. Shooting several webs off buildings, skyscrapers and of course, running through the Times Square, he makes his way back to the balcony. Your curtains are closed and he smiles when he sees your name on his phone. He also hopes that you don’t open your curtain and makes a note to himself to give you a warning that he was changing or using some other excuse. Taking his mask off, he answers the call.

“Hey Y/N.”

“Jesus Mark! Where were you? I was worried, you’re never at your balcony anymore,” You frown. Mark can clearly hear your concerned voice, and he only chuckles. “I’m okay, Y/N. I just um, went to the coffee shop downtown to clear my mind for a while.”

You take a deep breath, “C-Can I, you know, talk to you outside?”

Mark panics, “Yeah. Just give me a minute, I’ll change.”

“Okay.” You smile. Mark came off the balcony and climbed through his window and quickly got changed as you tapped your window, waiting for him patiently. He watches your bored face turn into a bright smile. “Hey neighbour.”

“You know, I was waiting for you.”

“I’m sorry, I’ve been really busy nowadays,” Mark sighed. Truthfully, balancing his Spider-Man life with his high school studies was hard, and he felt embarrassed to even tell you that yes— he was Spider-Man. Not even his own Aunt knows that.

“No, it’s okay. You know I like a warning or something like that.” You look at him and you both meet eyes, pure silence washing over the both of you for a few seconds.

“Sorry.” Mark only apologises again, looking down and breaking the eye contact.

“What’s that?” You look at his white shirt, blood slowly inking through visibly. Despite the almost dark night, the blood seems to show quite easily. Mark’s cheeks flush red, “It’s nothing, don’t worry.”

“ _Mark Lee_ ,” You groan. “Come on. I’ll fix you.” Mark’s still surprised about how you attempt to heal his cuts quite late at night and still have no suspicions, except the excuse of being clumsy or if he has a bruise, he still claims to say Donghyuck punched him playfully. Mark slowly climbs over to your balcony, as he let you into your bedroom. He forgets that you ask him for permission to lift his shirt up, and instead stares at all the Spider-Man articles you seemed to have cut out from newspapers and magazines.

“Mark.” You poke him. “Mark.”

“Yeah? Oh uh, sorry.” He blushes.

“Can I lift your shirt?”

“What?” His eyes widen.

“Dumbass,” You roll your eyes and Mark answers with a ‘yes’, so you lift his shirt from the back and began to patch him up with plasters. You take in the fact that he seems to be working out, his muscles show well and you feel your cheeks heat up.

“You save all these Spider-Man things?” Mark questions, breaking the silence.

“Oh uh, yeah, I do. Sometimes I think about working as a reporter and talk about heroes all over New York. Also, like I said I’m just interested in this industry.” You answer.

“Just Spider-Man?”

“He’s probably my favourite.” Mark blushes again, hearing your words.

* * *

Saturday morning seems to fly by, and you’re only just awake at one in the afternoon. Your eyes immediately widen when you receive a text from Mark; _Hey. I’ll be a bit busy today, I’ll stop by later for some pizza? I’m sorry I won’t work with you on the Chem project, I’ll repay you I promise :)_

The smile somewhat sends you in a good mood already, and you’re already looking forward to seeing Mark later. The Friday night was probably something you’ll never forget, as you both end up chatting for two hours and he almost forgets that he was done with your help fifteen minutes in.

Mark invites Donghyuck over whilst Aunt May goes out, showing him the new suit that Mr. Stark made for him, newly technology advanced. “Look, it even has a voice.” Donghyuck nudges the older boy in excitement, gushing about how his best friend is living the life. A really cool one, to be exact.

“And I’m heading to the headquarters soon. That’s why I texted Y/N earlier about today.”

“You have to figure out something with her,” Donghyuck whines, “Aunt May already has you a suit, but you have no Homecoming date. She likes you back, Mark.”

“Doubt that,” He glances over to the suit Aunt May gave to him this morning.

“If you mess up, your chance is gone. The relatively new kid Wong Yukhei or Lucas, have no idea what he prefers, has eyes on her."

“How do you know that?” Mark raises one eyebrow at Donghyuck’s statement.

“He’s in mine and Y/N’s gym class. I overhead him.” Donghyuck shrugs. “So hurry up.”

Mark slouches before staring at his new Spider-Man suit, “Soon. I’ll get roses for our pizza night later.” Donghyuck again punches Mark playfully, in a way to cheer for the fact Mark is trying his best to drop hints.

Later, Mark nervously reaches Stark Tower, only to be disappointed at the news given to him. Being drafted to the Avengers, but still having to work on his studies. And Stark isn’t fully convinced for him to be a full Avenger just yet, after what happened at the night of saving the bank, where Mark almost drowned in a lake just before Stark was able to save him.

That’s why sometimes he skipped a couple of classes, leaving you in disappointment to fight more crime. Mark gets back to his Queens apartment in the late afternoon, finding you working on the Chemistry project he had texted you earlier. He panics when he hears Aunt May’s voice, and shoves his suit deep into the back of his closet.

“Mark! I made some cookies, you can give them to Y/N if you see her later.” He opens the door and May hands him the plate full of chocolate chip cookies and he grins. “Yeah. Will do.”

“Have you asked anyone out for Homecoming yet? How about Y/N? She showed me her dress earlier!” May yells, walking back into the kitchen as Mark leaves his bedroom door open. 

“Don’t know yet, Hyuck told me to give her roses when I have pizza with her later.” Mark shrugs casually, although his entire body is probably sweating at the idea.

May smiles, “Go for it, Mark!”

-

You decided to do some late grocery shopping for yourself, but it was a bit later than expected. Mark would stop by around nine, so you had two more hours to get whatever you needed for yourself. Walking by yourself was not a good choice holding heavy bags, most of them full with ice cream tubs, and you clutched your purse tightly when you cringe hearing drunk men voices around you.

“Hey pretty lady, what about you come here and give us your number?”

“Show us what that mouth can do baby!”

Picking up your pace as you walk back to your apartment, not a far distance left, you drop your bags on the floor as they both hold your hands, one of them caressing your cheek with their finger and you yell. “Excuse me?!” You thought that them being drunk may be a disadvantage, but you were definitely wrong.

“We’ll take you back to our place, sweetheart.” The strangers try to grab your purse, but a voice appeared out of nowhere.

“Leave her alone!” A yell was from the top of the abandoned restaurant, and you mentally thank the familiar hero; and then it hits you.

It’s Spider-Man.

You’re too busy staring at him as he shoves you back behind him, as you quickly grab all your bags, on the floor watching him throw punches at the two drunk strangers. “You two can’t really fight..” Swinging the two men around with his webs, you couldn’t help but yell out for the boy as he was faced with a punch. “ _Ow_ , fine, you got me there.”

Squinting, trying to picture his face, but the mask covers the boy well as he successfully knocks both of them out and ends up covering their mouths with his webs. The boy grunts in pain from the punch, but he ends up tying them up as he watches, almost laughing as only muffled words come out from the drunk men. Your mind almost goes foggy, feeling a bit overwhelmed, but nonetheless, you try to stay awake and gather all your things.

Towering over you, the boy in the tight blue and red suit offers a hand. Stumbling on your feet—still not being able to believe what just happened—you held the grocery bags that were dumped on the floor. He was not much taller than you, but definitely muscular, and you really had nothing to say since his mysterious disguise was hidden behind his mask.

“Holy shit.” You only say. “What the fuck! It’s.. you!” You almost squeak.

“You? Oh right! It’s me.” The boy smiles, but you can’t tell. “Your friendly neighbourhood Spider-Man.”

“Y—” Before you were able to exclaim anything else about gushing over the hero, your toes trip over the grocery bags you still haven’t managed to pick up yet.

“Hey, hey, I got you.” The young boy manages to step ahead before you, letting you fall into his arms. “Hello? Can you hear me?”

“I’m sorry, I just—” Your head pangs, and the boy tells you to focus on his voice, not knowing what to do. “I can go home myself.”

“It’s not safe out here,” Is Spider-Man really wanting to take you home with him? “Come on, tell me where you live. You look like you’re going to faint.”

“Just.. the apartment block down the street..”

“Hold on tight. It’ll be a ride.”

Spider-Man seems to hold you tightly, your arms around his neck as you both swing through Queens. It almost felt relaxing, wind hitting you in the face as Spiderman only focuses on his webs landing on the highest point of whatever building would be next. The boy behind the mask only assures you that you’ll be fine, “Are you alright there ma’am?”

“I’m okay.” You shakily let out, trying to not let your banging head in the way. Just a few minutes later, you both reach your apartment roof, “You’re okay ma’am.”

“Thank you.. Spidey?”

Not that you were able to see everything under the mask, but Spider-Man’s face heats up and almost turns into the colour of the red on his suit. “Just your friendly neighbourhood Spider-Man…” He salutes, repeating, you assume his trademark phrase; but the sudden pause makes you respond.

“Y/N.” You smile. “Thank you. I owe you.”

“I hope to rescue my favourite damsel in distress again,” Spider-Man laughs. You thank him again and he rushes off into the distance, gasping in awe as his continues jumps don’t seem to stop. Smiling to yourself, you head back into your apartment and take medicine just before you change into your pyjamas.

-

The clock strikes eight thirty, and Mark groans feeling his head collide against the brick wall. “Pick someone else your own size, kid.” The grown man chuckles walking away before telling his friend about the ‘Spider-Man kid’, and Mark feels absolutely defeated. Maybe again, he disappointed Stark. His sudden thought goes back to him promising you pizza at nine, and Mark struggles to stand up on his feet. Cursing at the cuts and his aching head, he fumbles to find your contact name. “Y/N?”

“Mark? Are you okay?” You said, “You’re not at your apartment.. Are you getting the pizza?”

“Oh uh, yeah. It’s just taking a long time..” Mark sighs, taking his mask off and taking a deep breath. “I’ll just be running a tad late.”

“Take care, Mark,” You speak, blushing over your words. Mark hangs up after saying goodbye, and puts his mask back on. A couple of looks were given as he swung by to head to the nearest pizza place two blocks away from the apartment block. “Large, cheese please.”

The pizza cashier is too busy staring at him, “Oh my god! You’re Spider-Man!”

“Hah, oh uh, yeah,” Mark seems to forget he’s wearing his Spidey suit most of the time. The pizza cashier seems to close his eyes, collapsing on the floor as Mark begins to yell for help.

-

-

“Ah! Mark!” You almost said in a yell, letting him in as he takes the pizza box in. He sits down on your couch, the pizza box set on the coffee table. You begin to ramble with hands running through your hair, and Mark only nervously chuckles. He mentally prepares himself to be blushing any second now. “You would not believe me. So, these drunk guys come after me and I start yelling—”

“Mhm,” Mark cuts you off.

“And Spider-Man saves me? Calls me his favourite damsel in distress? New York’s hero is something, really. Oh gosh..”

“Spider-Man? Really?” Mark pretends to be somewhat confused.

“Yeah! I think under that mask he’s probably pretty cute.”

Your words leave him in a blushing mess. “Okay, you can gush over him another time Y/N. The pizza is cold.”

* * *

You were greeted by Wong Yukhei, or Lucas as he sometimes prefers to be called. He was in your gym class, a couple of conversations were made with him. He was tall, incredibly funny and you couldn’t deny that he was good-looking. He was on the basketball team too, and you knew that quite a lot of girls would swoon over him.

“Hey Yukhei,” You smile. “Morning Y/N.” You watched Mark walk off to Donghyuck and you turned back to Yukhei. “How can I help you Yukhei?”

“I uhm,” He started, “I know that we don’t know each other that well, but I’d really like to know you better, so would you come to Homecoming with me?”

You were taken aback.

Some people from nearby had yelled at you to say yes already, and you watched Yukhei smile widely at you as he holds out a rose. You were really surprised; not anyone has really offered you to go to Homecoming as a date, and probably it was more surprising that Wong Yukhei, a boy who had many people look at and be jealous of, shocked you. “I.. I will, Yukhei.”

“Woah, look over there,” Donghyuck says, “Looks like Yukhei’s got a Homecoming date.”

“Is it a cheerleader?” Mark guesses, his eyes not off his phone as he read another article about saving the girl; you. Mark was even amazed that people were able to capture pictures.

“It’s Y/N.”

_Y/N._

“Y/N?” Mark looks up to the scene. He watches you take the rose from Yukhei’s hand and hug him tightly, claps and cheers from people around you. Letting his phone fall to his side, his mind goes hazy.

His heart aches. A broken puzzle piece it almost felt like.

He doesn’t know what to do except just stare at you, how wide your grin was. How you stared at the rose, surprised that someone even asked you. He was too late, and Donghyuck was right. Maybe Yukhei was just a Homecoming date and hopefully nothing else, but different ending scenarios to Homecoming left Mark feeling negative about himself and the whole thing. He might as well not even turn up.

“Fuck.” Mark sighs. “I’ll see you at lunch, Hyuck.”

Mark runs off to the toilets, feeling sick.

“Hey Hyuck,” You greet the smaller boy, as his head turns to you. He gives you a smile, “You have a Homecoming date?”

“Yukhei, yeah.” You smile. You realise Mark’s gone off. You assumed already that he had a date for Homecoming, as he told you he was eyeing a girl. “Where’s Mark?”

Donghyuck lies, “Have no idea. I have to ask my English teacher about something. Join me and Mark at lunch?”

“I’m having lunch with Yukhei, I’m sorry Hyuck,” You pout, “Another time though yeah? Tell Mark I’m sorry.”

“Will do.” He salutes, “Catch you later Y/N. Don’t catch any feelings for Yukhei.”

You bit your lip, shaking your head as you heard Haechan chuckle while walking off.

-

You huffed.

The last few days weren’t going great.

Mark has avoided you, and whenever you would approach him, his earphones would be plugged in and he’d walk away. And talking to Donghyuck was a pain in the ass, as he was dragged away by Mark. All you could do was text Donghyuck with replies of _‘I’m sorry, my bad’_ while Mark has left you on read. Even conversations with Aunt May were difficult.

This morning, you approached Mark, huffing the hair out of your face. His earphones were plugged in as he scrolled through something on his phone.

“Mark Lee!” You practically yelled. You were outside, so you could care less about the looks. He shrugged at you and took off his left earphone, “Yeah?”

“You’re such a dick,” You roll your eyes at him.

Mark bit his lip, “What got into you, Y/N?”

“You’re seriously going to ask me that _crap_?” You said, almost angrily—actually, angry. More than that— you were fuming. “You’ve been avoiding me for the past few days! You’re always dragging Hyuck away from me, what’s wrong—”

“I’m sorry.” Mark sighed, “Just go back to Yukhei.”

Mark shut up, realising what slipped out of his mouth. “You know what Mark Lee, I don’t have time for this anymore.”

-

“I’m just so annoyed with him, Hyuckie,” You sighed. You decided to have an alone time walk with yourself down the streets near the apartment. You looked back and saw that Mark’s light was still on, maybe he was studying. And along the way you planned to eat some pizza.

“He’ll come around. You know Mark, he’s probably on his period.”

You almost spat the blue raspberry slushy out of your mouth, “Hyuck, you know that—”

“I’m kidding. But he’s moody.” He giggled, “You’re like, his girlfr— I mean best friend. He’s gonna apologise.”

“Okay.” You sighed, “Anyways, I’ll go now. Good luck on your bio test tomorrow, sleep well.”

“Sleep well too, Y/N.” He responded. You hung up and shoved your phone into your coat pocket. You heard a couple of noises behind you, but you shrugged it off. Mark was a person you’d always rely on, no matter what. His silent treatment towards you felt stupid, and you needed reasons. Reasons why he was ignoring you, reasons why he showed hatred to you. He might have been quiet, you might have teased him for being a Chemistry nerd, but Mark told you everything. Nothing was kept in the dark between you two. _Ironic_ , really.

“You shouldn’t be walking in the dark like this, you know.” A voice says from above. You look around and see Spider-Man. Your jaw drops as he gives you a small wave from a restaurant building. You bit your lip, snapping out of your thoughts.

“Um..”

“It’s dangerous. Want me to take you home?” 

“I’m fine, thank you.” You were very shocked to even be within his presence. “Don’t you have your uh, Spider-Man saving stories?”

“Not tonight.” He sighs, “I’ve got one right now, right here though.”

“Saving me?” You look at the figure as he looks away from you. “Well, not saving, but maybe company.” Silence then washes over the pair of you. 

“What’s on your mind?” Spider-Man asks as you look up at him. You decide to just stand up and face him.

“I’m just annoyed.”

“You can spill. I’m… Anonymous.” The oddly familiar voice seems to say it jokingly and Mark’s glad that you don’t see his rosy cheeks. He absolutely knew you were annoyed at him for not talking to you, and he couldn’t help but frown to himself when Yukhei was mentioned. He cursed himself for being so nervous around you; it was just a simple question and the both of you were comfortable going together anyways.

“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have—”

“It’s okay, don’t worry.” The masked figure says, “My advice is just to talk to Mark. He sounds stubborn but the two of you are friends so there’s no problem. Are you going to go with Yukhei to Homecoming?”

“…I.. I don’t know.” You answered truthfully, kicking a rock. 

“Better make your decisions quick.” You nod. “Ah— I have to run. I’ll be here if you need anymore help.. Or venting.”

“Thanks.”

Spider-Man salutes, dashing off into the distance in a hurry. You yell a quick _‘Thank you, take care’_ before watching him disappear into the dark city. You finish the last slurp of your slushie and walk back home in disappointment.

* * *

_“Listen, I know school sucks. I know you want to save the world. But… you’re not ready yet.”_

The words from Tony Stark make Mark shudder, the bottle of the sticky web fluid in his hands. School was over, a couple of remarks from Flash, ‘Moron Mark’ being chanted by him and a couple of his friends, but Mark didn’t seem to care anymore. Saving crime every night was tiring. A handful of times Tony had to appear.

You’re still on his mind—Homecoming was nearing and time was being wasted.

“Hey furry.” Hyuck smiled, jumping over the seat. “Ew, who are you staring—ooh.”

You were putting up the Homecoming banner. It looked a bit… Okay, you didn’t want to exactly give your opinion, the colours weren’t really your thing, but you were requested by Liz Allen to put it up, so you did as you were told. Lunch times weren’t exactly your favourite, you were the missing piece to Mark and Donghyuck’s table, often you’d visit Yukhei and his friends, but it felt… wrong.

You missed Mark Lee.

It somewhat annoyed you. Mark was just so.. odd. He turned down so many things. You don’t know why he’s been so…

Cold. And jealous.

That’s what he currently was. Cold and jealous. You felt stupid for only realising it now, while you get down from the ladder. Jealous because Yukhei asked you to Homecoming first, cold because he didn’t want you to be associated as Yukhei’s date. It frustrated you that you had to puzzle it yourself instead of him not being able to tell you.

However, since it’s been ages since you talked, you decided to be confident. Being the one that gets the answer. It wouldn’t hurt to maybe walk up to their table.

And Hyuck was tapping Mark on the shoulder. You gave the younger boy a cold glare, “Uh, hey,” You start, clearing your throat. “Does the Homecoming banner look good? Liz designed it.”

“It looks great.” Donghyuck smiles, “Wanna sit here?”

“I actually already had lunch, but thanks for the offer.” Mark glanced up at you. “Um, I guess I’ll get going, have fun.” You wave to the both of them, Hyuck giving you a wave back.

-

Your Homecoming dress had arrived, Jiwoo begging for pictures. And it was also your birthday. You thanked messages from your family, your grandparents, aunts and uncles in different places, your cousins, even Donghyuck sent you a message at midnight, except for Mark.

 _It’s just this birthday,_ You thought, _No need to get mad or petty over it. Surely he would remember._ Mark never forgets anything.

Midnight had passed, you fell asleep at two in the morning and at nine you were woken up by the delivery of your Homecoming dress. Still, nothing from Mark. His apartment balcony stays empty, often you’d hear his voice and Hyuck’s late at night, but even after the sun sets he’s nowhere to be seen. You couldn’t help but feel slightly upset—slightly mad.

The day had gone by quickly; you and Jiwoo visited a new bubble tea shop that opened up, had a birthday dinner—she definitely asked for a free dessert since it was your birthday—and you opened your gifts. A knock on your door was unexpected, you had no other packages. Maybe it was—

“Y-Yukhei?” You stutter.

“I hope I’m not late!” He exclaims, giving you the large bouquet of roses and a couple of boxes. You take them carefully, blushing. His hands aren’t full anymore as you let him in, putting your gifts in the bedroom. “H-Happy birthday. As soon as I got notified on Twitter I ran to the nearest florist and ran to some stores.”

“You’re not late.” You smiled, “You remembered?”

“Well, yeah. And thanks to Twitter,” Yukhei pats your cheek, “Also I got a cake.. I hope I’m not late to you blowing out candles too.”

“Nah, it’s okay. Besides, this is less embarrassing than when Jiwoo asked the staff for free desserts and they came out in some band singing happy birthday,” You laugh as he opens the box up, you gasp at the cake. It might have looked simple, but it had flowers and strawberries all over it, in white chocolate spelt _‘Happy Birthday Y/N!’_. You awed, flustered.

Yukhei had taken out the candles and a lighter from his pocket, and began to sing happy birthday. A couple of voice cracks, but he was satisfied knowing he made you laugh. You ended up eating the whole cake with Yukhei, smiling and laughing as you talked about Homecoming and other plans.

-

Mark had let out a sigh, finishing his Chemistry homework. His headphones are off and he looks over to your balcony: curtains open, windows open, and…

_Who’s birthday is it?_

His face falls when he hears Yukhei’s voice singing ‘Happy Birthday’ to you. His heart was beating rapidly. He forgot your birthday. _Are you kidding me? You never forget anything, Mark.._ He curses to himself, not knowing what to do. His face lights up when he remembers May made cookies last night, and the necklace he ‘planned’ to give you to Homecoming until Yukhei stopped him from doing anything with you.

“Hyuck. I’m a dick.” Mark mumbles onto the phone.

“Yeah. You forgot Y/N’s birthday.” Donghyuck sighs, “Mark.. You never forget her birthday. You literally celebrate years with her for your friendship. How.. What.. Why.. Okay, how did you even forget?”

“I don’t know.” He answers truthfully, “Yukhei’s at her apartment and—”

He wants to cry.

“Okay, first, fuck Yukhei. I doubt he’ll change his mind for Homecoming anyway. You better talk to her or something, because I’m kinda mad at you too. She texted me one as to why you haven’t messaged her yet.” Donghyuck said.

“Y-Yukhei got her roses.. a cake. I’ve got cookies and the Homecoming necklace..”

“You dumbass. Run somewhere and get her something. Save that necklace for the night.”

“Okay. Thanks.”

“You’re welcome. She’s mad as fuck, just saying.” Hyuck ends the call and Mark is running down the street to find a jewellery store. Maybe a ring.. Maybe a bracelet—bracelet it was. He didn’t know if it was cheesy to put his initials engraved onto the silver bracelet, but he requested for it anyway.

-

“Happy birthday,” Yukhei said again, “I guess I’ll see you at Homecoming then?”

“Yeah. Thank you, a lot.” You nod, “I’m just still surprised you turned up and gave me a lot. More than Jiwoo.” You joked. Yukhei laughs and you hug the taller boy again, finally letting him go to head back home. You let out an exhausted sigh, putting all the rubbish in the bin, leftover chocolate in the fridge.

Your door knocks again and it’s probably Yukhei forgetting something. “What did you forget—”

Except, this time, it wasn’t Yukhei. It was Mark.

His black hoodie was on his head with his baseball cap. He’s holding a small box and a plate of cookies in his hands. Stunned, you look down to your feet. “Uh, hi.”

“Aunt May made these.” He spoke, “Look, I’m really fucking late. I’m so sorry—”

“Yeah, congratulations,” You scoff, “Did Haechan tell you?”

“He did.”

“Fucker.” 

“Happy birthday. I swear I didn’t mean to forget.” Mark rants, “I’ve been such a bad person to you and fuck, I’m really sorry. You don’t deserve that. I just heard Yukhei singing and then I realised that I screwed up big time.”

“You screwed up a lot,” You fold your arms, “Yukhei isn’t an excuse anymore, Mark. I figured out so much.”

“Figured out what?”

“You avoided me because I’m going with Yukhei for Homecoming.” You sighed, “Y-You could have just told me. You left me hurt, Mark. I trusted you. This is just one birthday, I told to myself. That maybe you were busy and you forgot but.. Because we avoided each other for so long I had to be mad.”

“I know that.” Mark mumbled, “I-It’s just complicated, okay? I’m just accepting now that you’re going with him. Please, Y/N, I love you. You’re my best friend and I promise I won’t be a dick again. I don’t want your birthday to be screwed up because of me.”

You pause, “Okay.”

He gave you a small smile, “Happy birthday.” He squeaks and you let him in. _Just tell her how you feel._ The angel says. _Just suffer during Homecoming_. The devil spoke.

“Have you.. Have you got a Homecoming date?” You question him quietly, opening the cookies that Aunt May made.

“No.. I guess my date is Hyuck.” He says jokingly and you can’t help but laugh. You don’t know why you felt your stomach sink while you waited for his reply. He gave you the small box and you snapped out of your thoughts.

“Open it.” Mark shrugs.

You almost tear up, the silver bracelet with Mark’s initials on. It looks beautiful, surely this would have costed more than you thought. “Mark…”

“I kinda convinced them to engrave my name as quick as possible,” He smiles, “And.. It’s something to remind you that I’m always here.”

“Oh my god, you’re so…” You mumble, “I hate you.”

“Happy birthday.” He smiles, “I love you.”

“I love you too, Minhyung.” You sniff, hugging him tightly. He smiles into the hug. “Yeah yeah, don’t cry.”

* * *

“Oh my god. You look great.” May smiles at Mark. “Okay, so where is Y/N?”

“She went with Yukhei.” Mark sighs, “It’s fine. I can just give these to her another time.” Aunt May pats his shoulders and adjusts his tie on top of the white button up. “You look handsome, Mark.”

“Thanks,” He smiles.

“Don’t let Yukhei or whatever his name is ruin Homecoming. Just let me know when you’re coming home, okay?” Mark nods and grips the corsage and the velvet box with your necklace in his hands.

Donghyuck offers Mark a ride to Homecoming and the two arrive, the gym already filled with students drinking and eating, even worse, grinding on each other while music plays in the background. His eyes find a couple of other classmates, Lee Jeno and Na Jaemin, until he spots Yukhei. You’re laughing with him. A pit of sadness fills his stomach.

You looked stunning. Your red dress. Aunt May wasn’t really joking when she told him that it really was beautiful. When Jiwoo helped you with make-up, you got increasingly nervous about the night. How Mark would react, if Yukhei suddenly turned you down.

But so far, you’re enjoying it. Yukhei took you with him to the school, until he told you that he didn’t think you would accept his offer to be his Homecoming date because he thought you and Mark were a thing. Instead, you two ended up going as friends, but he still gave you more flowers.

“Do you mind if I talk to Xiaojun for a bit?”

“Yeah of course! Don’t be stuck with me the whole night.” You yell over the loud music. He smiles and you end up looking at the cupcakes on the trays.

“Y/N!”

“Hey Hyuck.” You greet, pretending to wipe tears, “You look good. Aw.”

“Thanks,” He flips his hair dramatically, “You too. Your boyfriend wants to talk to you.”

“He’s not my—”

“He’s by the lockers. Hurry up.” Donghyuck giggles, pushing you. “Take a cupcake too.”

You end up taking the chocolate cupcake in your hand Donghyuck picked, and he pushed you to the lockers to talk to Mark. You gulped, “Hyuck told me that you wanted me?”

His hair was slightly gelled back, his black suit and tie suiting him perfectly. You think that you were drooling for a bit. Of course you had seen Mark wearing formal wear, but this time you feel more nervous. Butterflies fill your stomach as he takes your wrist, placing the corsage carefully.

“This is the first thing you do?”

“Well, yeah,” Mark chuckles. “You.. You look—beaut—beautiful tonight.” He stutters.

“Thank you,” You smile. “You look handsome.”

He nods. “Uh, I wanted to talk to you about a lot of things. Well first, ah, shit, uh, I really like you. I love you, like more than a friend. And I know I’m probably weird because I’m giving you this corsage and Yukhei didn’t but—”

“Mark, you’re rambling.”

“I am?” He mumbles to himself.

“It’s okay. I really like you too.” You blush.

“Oh? Well, that’s.. great.”

“Yukhei and I just went as friends. He thought you and I were a thing..”

“Well we kind of are—” Mark pauses and you look at him. “I have to go. Sorry.”

“Where are you going?” You frown. His confession was adorable. He was nervous. Like a young teenager mumbling words. You feel quite sad that he’s rushing to head off, “I’ll be right back. If I’m not back, tell Hyuck to go home. Have fun tonight, okay?”

He takes your hand and plants a kiss on your knuckles, “I’ll be back, babe.”

“Take care.” You said, watching him run off into darkness.

-

You haven’t heard anything from Mark yet. It was the morning after Homecoming night, it definitely would have been better if Mark was around, but you still enjoyed the night with Yukhei, Jiwoo and Donghyuck. Yukhei decided to take you back home, and you thanked him for the night.

_mark, it’s y/n, text me back. u havent answered me or hyuck since last night_

Sighing, you decide to call Aunt May, who tells you that Mark has been chilling in his room since Homecoming night. Confused, you wonder to yourself, _maybe he was sick, maybe he was nervous_ or something came up with May. Not deciding to question her, you thank her and run off quick to their apartment.

You greet May at the door, telling you to come in and to find Mark in his bedroom. You thank her again, cheekily asking for her cookies and she nods, laughing. She yells that she heads off to the grocery store, “Have fun with Mark!”

“What the _fuck_?” You shout, surprised at the sight. “Mark?”

“Uh, hi.” The boy squeaks. He turns around. _No way, no way…_ You can’t believe it. Mark Lee, your best friend, and boyfriend is Spider-Man? The hero who crawls on walls? The hero who swings around New York? _Holy shit._

“Mark Lee. You’re Spider-Man?”

Mark freezes.

“Shut up. May can hear.”

“She went out,” You roll your eyes, “You’re going to have to tell me everything. That suit.. Holy shit, Mark. You’re fucking Spider-Man..”

He chuckles shyly, “You can’t tell anyone else. Seriously. If Hyuck finds out that you know too, it’s going to be a competition.”

“It already is,” You mumble, “Jesus, Mark. That suit.. It looks.. Really tight on you.”

“It’s fine. I’ve gotten used to it, although my dick literally—”

“Okay, that’s enough.” You laugh, but then you jump and squeal, “Alright, now can you please tell me how my boyfriend is literally Spider-Man? I literally love that hero.”

“Hearing you gush over me again?” Mark smirks, “Of course. Any chance. I love it when you praised me.”

“Ew, that sounds weird.” You push him lightly on the bed, “Come on, Spider kid. Tell me how this even started.”

Mark begins to explain about how he got bitten by a radioactive spider. At the time he only told Donghyuck about what happened, before realising that it meant something. The mark left behind on his neck seemed noticeable he thought, but he was glad that you didn’t notice until he pointed it out while in his suit. He shrugged it off, but it got concerning when he had the power to shoot webs. He told you about Tony Stark, Iron Man, how it was pressuring, how disappointing it was to hear that Mark wasn’t ready for anything. He was just a kid studying. It would be too hard to balance a superhero life with a student life.

“Wow..” You run your hands up and down the material of the suit, planting a kiss on his shoulder. “Why didn’t you tell me this earlier? My boyfriend, shit, Mark, you’re a hero.” It was still shocking, you couldn’t believe that it was real. You found the mark on the back of his neck, staring at it and grazing over it with your thumb. “I’m sure Stark just doesn’t know how much effort you put in. No wonder why you’re always out at random times..”

“I felt ashamed. Like you wouldn’t feel the same way even more. Maybe scared of who I was.”

“Are you kidding? I would have been amazed if you told me. Now I can gush about Spider-Man even more. And wait!”

“What is it?”

You played with the necklace in your fingers that he gave to you. “You’re not half-furry?”

“Shut up, you’re just like Donghyuck.”

You giggle, “Half-spider, but not half-furry. I’m quite disappointed in you, Mark.”

“I’m not half-furry.”

“Whatever you say, my spider boyfriend.” Mark turns around and lays you down on his bed, kissing you softly. “Oh my god. You’re kissing me with the suit on too.”

“Remind me that our date night later is swinging through the city.” He winks and you push him playfully, sitting up. “Hey, I will not do that. I will literally die, I thought I blacked out the first time you swung me back to my apartment.”

“It’s fun. You have to hold on to me tightly, babe.”

“Alright, furry.”

“I’m not.. ugh. You’re so annoying.” He pushes you carefully on his bed once again, hovering on top of you. “Shut up and kiss me, spider kid.”

“It’s Spider-Man, babe. And I gladly will.” His lips are on yours again, and you deepen the kiss. Giggling to yourself, you run your hands down his suit, feeling the spider logo in the middle of his chest. Mark smiles to himself. Finally, he has you, and it really was about time he told you that he was Queens’ hero.

“I love you.”

“I love you too, furry.”

"Don't call me that."


End file.
